24 Feb 2016
There’s no record of the Apostles ever having been
baptized. Jesus called them; he said, “Follow
me,” and they did. And, as we know, they
followed him (for the most part) through the Passion and Resurrection, and then
went on to spearhead the beginnings of the Church—all at a great cost to themselves. The Apostles were never baptized (in water),
but they certainly lived the life of the baptized; they lived the life of one who
follows Christ—regardless of where that fidelity took them.
Of course, now, we are
baptized. And that was both the call and our response to Jesus. And so,
maybe sometimes in life, Jesus pulls us
aside (like the Apostles) and says, “Now, be careful up ahead here. Someone’s going to try to put fear in your
heart, but remain strong; remain in me.
Be my disciple.” That’s where our
baptism leads us—it leads us to follow the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
As we continue in our Lenten practices, it’s good to
consider: Is the Lord calling me to do something, or to be something which will
require me to put real trust in him? Is
there a change in life I need to accept, but am afraid to? How is the Lord asking us to live out our
baptismal calling: the call to be a servant, a follower, one who trusts in the
Lord and can say: “Into your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit.”
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